A Christmas Scarol
by newbienovelistRD
Summary: Danny and Lindsey meet three of the most famous ghosts in history and learn a thing or two about the true meaning of Christmas.
1. Chapter 1

At Lindsey's house, her mansion was completely decorated for Christmas. There was garland all around the railings.

In the middle of the room was an enormous Christmas tree that reached from floor to ceiling. It was covered with the most lovely decorations money can buy.

Her parents, George and Veronica sighed while holding each other's hands."

"There's nothing like spreading a little Christmas spirit, Honey." George said. He dressed in his usual tuxedo.

"Oh, yes, dear." Veronica said, wearing a floor-length red dress. "Nothing gets more festive than hiring decorators to deck the halls!" They laughed in their snooty way.

Sitting by her lonesome on the living room couch was Lindsey. She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling.

She did not look happy at all.

"Lindsey? What's the matter, buttercup?" George asked as he walked in. "You've been gloomy all day!"

"Tomorrow's Christmas!" Veronica said. "Here, have another present, dear." She handed Lindsey a golden-wrapped gift.

Lindsey sighed. "No thanks, Mom."

"Oh, now. I insist!" She put the present in Lindsey's lap. "Your father and I will be back, sweetie. We're off to do something more shopping!"

As soon as George and Veronica left the house, Lindsey called her friends. "Guys, emergency meeting at the mansion."

* * *

A few minutes later, Danny, Tucker, and Sam arrived.

"Hey, guys. Glad you can come." Lindsey said, welcoming them. She stared. "Tucker, what's that on your head?"

"Surely you don't mean my mistletoe." said Tucker, pointing to the small plant dangling from his head.

"That's mistletoe? Like on TV?" Lindsey asked.

"It sure is." Tucker puckered his lips.

Danny rolled her eyes. "Tucker, there's no way Lindsey's gonna-

Lindsey kissed Tucker on the lips.

Danny and Sam felt their jaws drop. Did they just witness a Christmas miracle?!

"Wow! Kissing under mistletoe does feel special!" Lindsey said in amaze.

Tucker's face turned red as a poinsettia.

But Lindsey started to smile sadly. "Sure wish mom and dad put up mistletoe. Or something simple like that."

"Not in the Christmas spirit, Lindsey?" asked Danny.

Lindsey shook her head. "Nope."

"Good, neither am I." Danny said. "I just need to get away from my family for a bit."

Lindsey sighed. "I hear ya, the only Christmas magic they believe in is money. To them, Christmas is just an excuse to buy a bunch of useless presents and holiday junk we don't need. I have a closet packed with mink coats thanks to my mom and my dad bought me a pony! I mean, really?! A pony?! I'm not five! It's a greed induced nightmare!"

Danny, Tucker, and Sam stared as Lindsey continued.

"I've never had a humble little Christmas like the ones on TV. Where friends and family who love each other come together and celebrate peace on Earth, sing carols, and go sledding and all sorts of fun things like that!"

Lindsey looked down at the polished marble floor. "I wish...just once...I could have the Christmas I always dreamed of."

"Oh, dear. You poor thing." a sweet voice said.

Danny's ghost sense kicked in.

A bright light suddenly filled the room. The teens shielded their eyes as it became brighter.

When the light died down, a gorgeous woman in a long white gown holding a flaming candle appeared. A silver tiara was placed on her shimmering blonde hair. Her eyes were kind.

A red glow shined, a giant man in a green robe and a bushy red beard appeared. Around his head was a wreath of holly. In his hand he held a horn.

"My! What a lovely place!" the giant man chortled merrily.

The very scared and confused teens started to back away.

Now the room went dark, an eerie silver mist began billowing in the darkness.

Lindsey's heart was hammering. "Uh, guys-"

She bumped into something. With a gulp, Lindsey turned around and saw a tall, ominous phantom shrouded in a black cloak.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lindsey screamed and jumped into Tucker's arms. "DANNY! Get them out of here!" she screeched in terror. "Get them out now!"

"Please, child! Do not fear us!" the ghost woman said calmly. She frowned at the hooded ghost. "You just had to make an entrance like that." she scolded.

The phantom said nothing.

Shaking her head, the woman snapped her fingers and the lights came back on.

"Who are you?!" Danny sputtered.

"Oh! Forgive us, dearie." The woman put a hand to her chest. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."

"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present!" boomed the big ghost.

The third ghost was silent.

"And this is the Ghost of Christmas Future." said Christmas Past.

The four teens dropped their jaws on the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Danny said. "You're the ghosts from A Christmas Carol?!"

"As in the ghosts who turned around Ebenezer Scrooge?!" Lindsey said in complete bafflement. "NO WAY! And in my house?! Awesome!"

"Yes, we are." Christmas Past said. "So nice to meet you."

"So, the Christmas Carol story is real?!" Sam said.

Christmas Present nodded. "That's right. And every Christmas we change someone for the better. But it can be tiring working on the holiday. So we're taking the day off."

"What? You can't just take the day off!" Sam said. "What if there's a Scrooge out there!"

"Actually dearie, we checked and there's not a single one out there!" Christmas Past said. She looked around. "I must say, this place will do nicely for our vacation."

"Now, hold on a minute!" Danny said. "You guys can't just waltz right in and-"

Lindsey covered his mouth. "Don't listen to him. You ghosts are all welcome in my home!"

"You can't be serious!" Sam replied.

"Come on, Sam. Where's your Christmas spirit?" Lindsey said. "I mean, these are nice ghosts! Not bad ones!" She turned to the ghosts. "Of course you guys are welcome in my home!"

"Then you wouldn't mind doing a little chore for us?" Christmas Past asked sweetly.

"Anything, just name it." Lindsey gladly accepted.

"And here we go..." Sam said under her breath.

"We left some presents behind at the mall." Christmas Present said. "Could you and Danny Phantom here fetch them for us?"

Danny blinked. "Presents? What do mean presents?"

"Why, Christmas presents of course!" the giant ghost said. "Even ghosts do a little holiday shopping."

"Sure!" Lindsey said.

"What?!" Danny said.

"Danny, Christmas is about thinking of others and good will to all. The least we can do for these ghosts is help them get their presents."

Danny would argue, but Lindsey made a very valid point. Christmas was about thinking of others. Besides, the ghosts of Christmas didn't seem like the bad ghosts he was used to fighting all the time.

"Okay, let's go." Danny struck a pose and became Danny Phantom.

Christmas Past handed Lindsey a piece of paper. "Here is where you'll find our gifts."

"Got it." Lindsey gave a salute. "You can count on us, Ma'am!"

Danny took Lindsey's hand and they flew out of the house.

Tucker and Sam looked back at the ghosts of Christmas. They were all alone with them.

"Now then, who's for some Christmas movies?" Christmas Past said with a cheerful smile. She snapped her fingers and a stack of DVDs appeared.

"Come home soon, Lindsey..." Tucker said under his breath.


	2. Chapter 2

"Isn't this awesome, Danny?!" Lindsey said as they flew above town. "You and me on a Christmas adventure! How cool is that?!"

But Danny wasn't excited. He looked annoyed. "Yeah, I don't think picking up presents for ghosts constitutes a Christmas adventure."

Lindsey heard no joy in his tone. "Hold on a sec. Let's land a bit."

Danny landed on the roof of the mall.

"What's the matter, Danny? Get into the holiday spirit!" Lindsey told her friend. "After all, we're helping the ghosts of Christmas! The ones from one of the most legendary Christmas movies of all time! We're doing a good Christmas deed! You should be happy!"

Sighing, Danny sat on the edge of the roof. "Well, being happy on Christmas is kind of hard for me. Growing up, I've never had a happy Christmas because of my parents."

"Really? Do they waste time and money too?"

Danny shook his head. "No, my parents would always argue about whether Santa Clause was real or not. And I always end up getting the short end of the stick."

"What?! They argue over the existence of Santa Clause?! Don't they know that Santa Clause only represents the spirit of giving and thinking of others?! It's not something to fight about!"

"Yeah, but my parents only care about who's right and who's wrong." Danny said. "But last year, things were a little different. There was this Ghost Writer who had this crazy Christmas story-telling power!

"Ghost writer?!" Lindsey gulped. "Like a real _ghost_ ghost writer?! That sounds scary!"

"You have no idea! And ever since I beat him, I thought the fight between mom and dad would be over. But no! It's just thrown in reverse! Now Mom believes in Santa and my dad doesn't! You think they would learn their lesson, but no! So I left the house hours ago before any more arguing took off."

"Wow, your parents sound just as bad as mine." Lindsey admitted.

Danny sulked. "If Santa really does exist, maybe he can give me new parents."

"Danny! Don't say that!" Lindsey said. "I know parents aren't perfect, but that doesn't mean you should hate them."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I'll bet you a million bucks that my parents are at the mall telling children about Santa being real or not."

Danny grabbed Lindsey and they went through the ceiling. Thanks to Danny's invisibility, they were able to snoop around the mall no problem.

There were lots of people shopping, eating mall food, beinging their screaming kids to take a picture with a fake Santa Claus, but there was no sign of Jack and Maddie anywhere.

"Guess you owe me a million dollars." said Lindsey.

"Whatever." Danny groaned.

"Well, we better pick up the ghosts' presents. Meet you outside!"

Lindsey broke away from Danny, making her visible. She went inside the store according to the note's direction, spoke to the clerk, and received the presents.

Several minutes later, Danny waited and waited for Lindsey to return. He couldn't stop thiking about his parents. Usually, they would be at the mall lecturing children about Santa.

"Danny! I got the presents!" Lindsey said, coming out of the store. But her face fell when she saw Danny looking down. "What's the manner, Danny?"

Danny didn't respond.

As if she could read his mind, Lindsey asked, "Do you want to check on your parents?"

Danny nodded and offered her his hand. Lindsey took it and they flew off.

* * *

At Fenton Works, Danny and Lindsey arrived. Danny returned to his human form and went up the porch steps.

"Mom? Dad?" Danny called out when he opened the door. "Jazz?"

But there were no lights on except the Christmas tree lights.

And there were no sign of the Fentons.

Now Danny was really worried. "MOM! DAD! Where are you?!"

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?!" Lindsey called out. The two searched the whole house top to bottom, but no one was home.

"What is going on?! My parents are gone!" Danny exclaimed. "Even Jazz is gone!"

"Maybe they had to do some last minute shopping too?" Lindsey guessed.

"No, they already did their shopping. This could be something serious!" Danny started pacing around the living room. "If my parents aren't here then...where could they be?"

"We could ask the ghosts of Christmas." Lindsey said. "After all, they are with the past, present, and future."

"Makes sense." Danny said. So Danny and Lindsey decided to fly off to Lindsey's house.

When they arrived at the house, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Tucker and Sam were enjoying hot chocolate with the ghosts of Christmas. It was like a scene from a surreal Christmas movie.

"Uh, we brought your presents." Lindsey said.

"Oh! Thank you, dearie!" Christmas Past glowed with warmth.

"Have you guys seen my parents?" Danny asked. "They've gone missing?"

"Missing?" The humans and ghosts looked at each other.

"I'm sorry, my boy. But we don't know where they are." Christmas Present said. "We've been here all evening."

"What?! If there not at home arguing orworking in their lab, then...something must have happened to them!" Danny began to panic. "This is bad! We have to find them!" Danny took Lindsey's hand.

"Here we go again!" Lindsey called out and they flew off.

* * *

Danny Phantom and Lindsey flew into town in search of their parents.

"Maybe the Fentons are at the Christmas party with my parents." Lindsey said.

"Hmm, a Christmas party does sound like the perfect place for my parents to make fools of themselves." Danny said. "Let's check out."

Lindsey gave Danny directions to the party. They arrived to a lavish mansion that was home to one of the most prestigious families in Amity Park.

"This is the Hendersons place." Lindsey said. "They hold the richest Christmas party in town." Lindsey went up to the door and a portly butler answered it.

"Hi, Colander. Merry Christmas!" Lindsey said politely.

"Good evening, Miss. Bates." Colander greeted.

"May I speak to my parents?"

"I'm sorry, but your parents are not here." the butler said. "They did not come to the party."

"What?!" Lindsey stepped back in shock. "My parents didn't come?!"

Colander shook his head. "The master has sentenced out the invitation, but they never came."

Lindsey turned pale. Her parents must have vanished like Danny's parents!

"Are you alright, Miss Bates?" asked Colander.

"I...have to go now, Colander. See ya!" Lindsey took off and ran outside the gate. "Danny! My parents are missing too!"

"Okay, this is getting out of hand!" Danny had to think hard.

Lindsey suddenly gasped. "What if a ghost kidnapped them?!"

"No, all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone take a holiday truce on Christmas." Danny said.

"A holiday truce?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, ghosts actually be good for Christmas! It blew my mind. And good thing too. If ghosts were naughty at Christmas time, my parents would be hunting them down like a pack of wolves on a plump chicken."

Lindsey sighed, she hit her forehead on the gate. "This is all my fault."

"Why?"

Lindsey's eyes became filled with sadness. "My stubborn desire to have an average Christmas just ruined my Christmas. If only I went with my parents, then maybe I could have saved them from disappearing. My parents showered me with expensive gifts because they love me and want me to be happy. I should be grateful for the family I have, they may not be perfect, but their my family and I love them."

Now Danny started to feel sad. "No, Lindsey. This is more my fault than it is yours. I'm the one with the superpowers, if only I hadn't of run away, I would have been able to protect my parents...and yours. I should love my family for who they are too. Not having their voices around, I feel so...lonely and empty. I pretty much ruined my own Christmas too."

Lindsey put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Danny. If there's one thing I know about Christmas, is that it's never too late for a miracle! We'll search all over creation for our parents! Even it takes until next Christmas!"

Filled with holiday determination, Danny grinned and offered his hand. "Let's do this!"


	3. Chapter 3

And so, the search was on. Lindsey hopped on her new scooter her parents bought and patroled the streets while Danny looked through every house and building.

"Find anything, Danny?" Lindsey said through her walkie-talkie.

"Nope, nothing." Danny said on the other end.

For almost an hour, Danny and Lindsey reunited and came up with nothing.

Danny returned to his human form. "No sign of them..."

Lindsey was too heartbroken to say anything.

But then, a noise reached her ears. Danny heard it too.

Hearing the sound not too far, the two looked around the corner and gasped. They spotted a mob of people walking down the street.

Leading them was Jack and Maddie Fenton.

"DANNY! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Jack yelled through a Fenton megaphone.

But alongside the Fentons were the Bates.

"LINDSEY! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Virginia screamed through a diamond studded megaphone.

"DANNY! LINDSEY!" George yelled.

"DANNY! LINDSEY! DANNY! LINDSEY!" the crowd of people called out.

Danny froze. Lindsey nearly fainted.

"MOM! DAD!" Danny and Lindsey screamed at once. They stampeded towards the crowd and glomped their parents with giant hugs.

"Danny! You're safe!" Maddie bombarded Danny's face with kisses.

"Oh, sweetie-pie! Daddy was so worried!" George squeezed Lindsey tightly.

Virginia was in tears. "Oh, my baby!" she squealed.

"Danny! We were worried sick!" Jack said. "We've been looking all over town for you!"

"Lindsey, what happened?!" Virginia said. "When we got home from shopping, we were going to the orphanage for a party! But you weren't home!"

"The orphanage?!" Lindsey said in bafflement. "I thought you guys were going to the Hendersons's Christmas party! They sent you an invitation!"

"They did, but we turned it down because we were going to donate some pocket money to the orphanage." said Virginia. "And a few presents as well."

"Pocket money?!" Lindsey looked absolutely shocked.

"Pocket money?" Danny questioned.

"Danny, 'pocket money' is code for a hundred thousand dollars!" said Lindsey.

"A hundred thousand dollars?!" Danny blurted out.

"And new toys and supplies for the children!" said a woman. "The Bates family have saved the orphanage!"

Lindsey, with her hanging jaw, looked at her parents. "You...care enough to help orphans?"

"Care? Of course we care!" said George. "We may be rich, but we're not a couple of Scrooges!"

"We donate to orphanages and fundraisers every year, Lindsey!" Virginia said.

That, right there, gave the feeling that filled the hole in Lindsey's heart.

She said nothing. She just threw her arms around her parents.

"And Danny, we're sorry for arguing every Christmas." said Maddie. "The Bates reminded us what Christmas was truly about."

"That it's about peace and love, being with family and friends. Not whining about Santa like a couple of little brats." said Jack. "We're just glad to have you back, son."

Guess Danny had good parents after all.

"Now, why don't we all head back to the orphanage for the party?" said Virginia.

"Hold on, Mom!" Lindsey said. "There's something I need to take care of at home first!"

"There is?" asked Danny.

"Yes, there is." Lindsey and Danny hopped onto her scooter and they drove back to Lindsey's house.

When they returned, they saw the ghosts of Christmas relaxing in the living room.

"Found your family, eh?" Christmas Present said.

Lindsey gave them a half-smile. "So, you guys set us up, didn't you?"

"What?!" Danny blurted.

Christmas Present and Christmas Past laughed merrily. "Nothing gets by you, does it?"

"Wait! Did I miss something here?!" Danny sputtered. "What do you mean we were set up?!"

"Someone needed to learn a Christmas lesson, Daniel." said Christmas Past.

Danny pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Well, you and your parents." said Christmas Present. "You, Jack, and Maddie needed to learn what the true spirit of Christmas is about. Apparently, a Christmas without you and vice versa did the trick."

Danny stared. "Well played."

"And I hope you learned your lesson as well, Lindsey." said Christmas Past.

"Yes, Ma'am. I had my parents pegged all wrong." Lindsey said. "They really are awesome parents. And they did raise me right."

Christmas Past smiled. "And we'd like you to have this."

Lindsey gasped a little when Christmas Future approach her.

As Lindsey gazed wide-eyed at the cloaked phantom, he gave Lindsey a small red box wrapped with a green bow.

"Thank you." Lindsey said. "And Merry Christmas."

"And a Merry Christmas to you, dear." Christmas Past floated with her friends. "We must take our leave now. Goodbye."

Each ghost glowed their respective colors and faded away.

"What did they give you, Lindsey?" asked Tucker.

Lindsey opened her present. She stared at it.

It was a ring. A black ring with a green jewel on it.

"Wow..." Lindsey took the ring out. "It's beautiful!" She placed it on her left ring finger.

"I'll say. Those ghosts have good taste." said Sam.

"Now then, who's up for a Christmas party?" Danny said, his voice filled with holiday cheer.

"YEAH!" Tucker and Sam followed Danny outside.

But Lindsey didn't, she was reading the note left with the ring.

 _Lindsey, never take off this ring. It was specifically made just for you. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands._

Tucker poked his head into the living room. "Lindsey! You coming?"

Lindsey put the note back in the box. "Coming!"

A lot went through Lindsey's head. But she decided to worry about the ring tomorrow.

After all, it was Christmas.


End file.
